CONNECTIVITY

"The overall message of these trips was one Xi highlighted in his keynote speech at the APEC Economic Leaders' Summit: China cannot develop without the Asia-Pacific and the Asia-Pacific cannot prosper without China," Phuong Nguyen, a research associate with the United States-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, wrote in a comment.

Leaders of the Southeast Asian nations, including Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, have been receptive to the principles outlined by Chinese leaders.

While Nguyen saw China's "growing confidence in its ability to use economic leverage to craft policy toward ASEAN," other scholars said they believed ASEAN nations saw China's rise as an opportunity that benefited their people.

"Half of our (diplomatic) activity centers on economic cooperation, so China has a big advantage to work with ASEAN on economic cooperation," he said.

China's effort to boost its ties with neighboring countries is also strategically aimed at building a peaceful environment for itself. It is also in line with the historical trend of peace, cooperation and enhanced connectivity in a globalized world.

Huang said most of the Southeast Asian nations knew China was not the one that provoked tensions, though they remained suspicious whether a stronger China would exert more pressure on them.

It is necessary for China to continue to be soft while defending its legitimate interests, he said.

China's efforts to grow economic ties also fit in with its call for efforts to upgrade the China-ASEAN free trade agreement. And efforts to boost connectivity are needed, too.

In response to a question on how China can improve its ties with ASEAN, Kishore Mahbubani, dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, put it very simply, "build the (China-ASEAN) high-speed railway."